Browse content similar to 23/02/2017. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
Hello and welcome to Thursday in Parliament. | :00:16. | :00:17. | |
Was a British terror suspect paid compensation after being held | :00:18. | :00:22. | |
And was the money used to fund terrorism? | :00:23. | :00:27. | |
People across the country will feel sickened at the idea of large | :00:28. | :00:31. | |
payments being made to someone who may have been involved | :00:32. | :00:34. | |
There are calls for an end to so-called witch-hunts | :00:35. | :00:40. | |
against soldiers who served in Northern Ireland. | :00:41. | :00:43. | |
It is wrong that our veterans are sitting at home, | :00:44. | :00:46. | |
wondering if, perhaps, a third or fourth investigation | :00:47. | :00:50. | |
is now going to take place into their case. | :00:51. | :00:54. | |
And calls for an investigation into claims that some peers turn up | :00:55. | :00:57. | |
briefly to the House of Lords - just to claim their | :00:58. | :01:00. | |
Surely, does the Leader of the House not agree, | :01:01. | :01:06. | |
this at least warrants some sort of investigation as to what's going | :01:07. | :01:09. | |
But first, Jamal al-Harith - a British citizen - | :01:10. | :01:14. | |
was held as a terror suspect in Guantanano Bay in 2001 | :01:15. | :01:18. | |
after the US forces seized him in Pakistan. | :01:19. | :01:22. | |
The Daily Mail has claimed that the British Government gave him | :01:23. | :01:27. | |
Jamal al-Harith subsequently joined the so-called Islamic State group, | :01:28. | :01:36. | |
and last week he carried out a suicide attack at | :01:37. | :01:38. | |
The Home Office was called to the Commons to make | :01:39. | :01:43. | |
But, at the outset, a Minister explained that there were a few | :01:44. | :01:47. | |
The monitoring of individuals is an intelligent matter, | :01:48. | :01:52. | |
and the Government does not and cannot comment | :01:53. | :01:56. | |
Neither can the Government comment on whether particular individuals | :01:57. | :01:59. | |
In November 2010, the then Lord Chancellor, Secretary | :02:00. | :02:06. | |
of State for Justice, my right honourable friend | :02:07. | :02:09. | |
the member for Rushcliffe, informed the House of Commons | :02:10. | :02:11. | |
the Government had secured and mediated settlement | :02:12. | :02:14. | |
of the civil damages, claims brought by a detainees | :02:15. | :02:17. | |
held at Guantanamo Bay in the early 2000s. | :02:18. | :02:23. | |
The details of that settlement were subject to a legally binding | :02:24. | :02:26. | |
confidentiality agreement, and we are therefore unable | :02:27. | :02:28. | |
to confirm whether any specific individual received | :02:29. | :02:31. | |
It is reported that Jamal al-Harith has died in a suicide attack | :02:32. | :02:36. | |
in Mosul, and in doing so has killed several others on behalf | :02:37. | :02:39. | |
If these reports are correct, he was a deeply dangerous man | :02:40. | :02:45. | |
involved in the worst kind of extremism and terrorism, | :02:46. | :02:48. | |
that I'm sure will be widely condemned on all sides of this | :02:49. | :02:50. | |
Everyone understands there will be information that cannot be revealed | :02:51. | :02:56. | |
However, he has provided far too little information | :02:57. | :03:03. | |
Can he confirm whether Mr al-Harith was made any payment, and also, | :03:04. | :03:10. | |
notwithstanding the subsequent, welcome legislation - | :03:11. | :03:12. | |
which had cross-party support to tighten the law - | :03:13. | :03:20. | |
would he agree that people across the country will feel | :03:21. | :03:22. | |
sickened at the idea of large payments being made to someone | :03:23. | :03:25. | |
who may have been involved in serious terrorist activity? | :03:26. | :03:27. | |
We know that Mr al-Harith was subject to monitoring | :03:28. | :03:29. | |
after 2004, was he subject to monitoring between 2010, | :03:30. | :03:33. | |
when the compensation payments are reported to have been made, | :03:34. | :03:37. | |
and reportedly leaving the country in 2014? | :03:38. | :03:40. | |
I thank the right honourable lady for her questions. | :03:41. | :03:44. | |
Can I also say, like her, and like my constituents, | :03:45. | :03:47. | |
we will all be outraged and disappointed by the sums | :03:48. | :03:49. | |
But the sums of money that had been paid and been | :03:50. | :03:58. | |
reported to have been paid, I can't comment on | :03:59. | :04:00. | |
And unlike former Home Secretaries, the Government is bound by its legal | :04:01. | :04:06. | |
obligations that it has made, and we cannot break | :04:07. | :04:08. | |
But I can say that some of the vulnerability that led us | :04:09. | :04:12. | |
to have to pay those damages occurred when she was a member | :04:13. | :04:15. | |
of the Labour Government, and when those individuals brought | :04:16. | :04:19. | |
There will be natural public concern about the case of Jamal al-Harith | :04:20. | :04:26. | |
he was allegedly paid ?1 million in compensation by the UK | :04:27. | :04:35. | |
Government following his incarceration in Guantanamo. | :04:36. | :04:39. | |
And there will be natural public concern that the Minister has chosen | :04:40. | :04:42. | |
to hide behind the notion of sensitive intelligence to fail | :04:43. | :04:44. | |
to answer even the simplest factual questions about this case. | :04:45. | :04:50. | |
We don't need to know exactly how much, but was there any payment? | :04:51. | :04:58. | |
Is there any truth in the idea that the settlement was designed | :04:59. | :05:01. | |
to stop al-Harith making embarrassing revelations | :05:02. | :05:05. | |
about our acquiescence in enabling of the torture of a UK citizen? | :05:06. | :05:10. | |
It is reported that around ?20 million was being paid to former | :05:11. | :05:14. | |
Guantanamo Bay detainees, 16 in number. | :05:15. | :05:19. | |
This morning, Lord Blunkett suggested that sum should | :05:20. | :05:23. | |
be formally reviewed, since the public will be dismayed, | :05:24. | :05:27. | |
and they will be particularly concerned if any of that money has | :05:28. | :05:29. | |
Will he undertake to review the ?20 million or thereabouts | :05:30. | :05:34. | |
that is reported to have been paid out to these individuals? | :05:35. | :05:37. | |
My right honourable friend raises an important point | :05:38. | :05:43. | |
about the destination or what happens to any money | :05:44. | :05:46. | |
One of the reasons we took through the House only on Tuesday | :05:47. | :05:51. | |
the Criminal Finances Bill, which covers terrorist financing, | :05:52. | :05:53. | |
is to give us even more powers to track money destined | :05:54. | :05:57. | |
The root cause of the problem here is the operation | :05:58. | :06:02. | |
The Government previously supported President Obama's aspiration to see | :06:03. | :06:08. | |
it closed and the reduction in numbers there. | :06:09. | :06:11. | |
The current president, when he was campaigning, | :06:12. | :06:13. | |
said he was going to load it up with some "bad dudes". | :06:14. | :06:16. | |
Does the Government now support President Obama's position | :06:17. | :06:19. | |
I think before the Government comments on United States action, | :06:20. | :06:25. | |
we should see what the actions are in themselves. | :06:26. | :06:27. | |
I can tell you from my own personal experience, as a young officer | :06:28. | :06:30. | |
in Northern Ireland doing counterterrorism, is torture, | :06:31. | :06:33. | |
degrading people doesn't work, it doesn't get | :06:34. | :06:36. | |
In fact, it usually extends conflict. | :06:37. | :06:40. | |
Can I diassociate myself from these disgraceful attacks from the Tory | :06:41. | :06:43. | |
benches on the Daily Mail for campaigning to release British | :06:44. | :06:46. | |
Lord Carlile was a Government adviser, he has stated that Jamal | :06:47. | :06:52. | |
al-Harith and others were paid compensation to prevent | :06:53. | :06:55. | |
the release of security information through the courts | :06:56. | :07:02. | |
It's bit late now for the Minister now to rest on confidentiality, | :07:03. | :07:06. | |
so perhaps he could tell us this - what was the date of | :07:07. | :07:09. | |
the confidentiality clause which the Minister was citing? | :07:10. | :07:11. | |
First of all, perhaps I could respond to the right | :07:12. | :07:21. | |
honourable gentleman's point about the attacks on the Daily Mail. | :07:22. | :07:24. | |
I don't think anyone's heard from this dispatch box | :07:25. | :07:26. | |
I know he'd like to put up a strawman to make some allegations. | :07:27. | :07:32. | |
As I said in my answer, November 2010, we made a legally | :07:33. | :07:36. | |
The key word in there for him is legally binding. | :07:37. | :07:43. | |
It's not confidentially, it's the legally binding bit. | :07:44. | :07:46. | |
Which I'm sure he'll understand puts an obligation on us, | :07:47. | :07:49. | |
it's not an obligation on former Home Secretaries, by | :07:50. | :07:53. | |
the sounds of things, or reviewers of terrorism, | :07:54. | :07:55. | |
And should it even be an SNP Government, they would be | :07:56. | :08:01. | |
legally obliged to stick to the confidentially | :08:02. | :08:03. | |
The Government has come under pressure to take urgent action over | :08:04. | :08:07. | |
investigations into allegations against British veterans who served | :08:08. | :08:09. | |
Some Conservatives and Democratic Unionist MPs have said that, | :08:10. | :08:14. | |
in future, inquiries should only proceed if NEW evidence | :08:15. | :08:20. | |
The demands follow the decision by the Defence Secretary, | :08:21. | :08:24. | |
Sir Michael Fallon, to shut down the Iraq Historic Allegations Team. | :08:25. | :08:27. | |
We believe that the Government must give urgent consideration | :08:28. | :08:29. | |
to introducing a statute of limitations for soldiers | :08:30. | :08:32. | |
and police officers who face the prospect of prosecution in cases | :08:33. | :08:36. | |
which, and this is very important, in cases which have | :08:37. | :08:41. | |
previously been the subject of full police investigations. | :08:42. | :08:48. | |
It is wrong that our veterans are sitting at home wondering | :08:49. | :08:52. | |
if perhaps a third or a fourth investigation is now going to take | :08:53. | :08:57. | |
place into their case simply because some hot, | :08:58. | :09:02. | |
fast-thinking, make a quick buck human rights lawyer in Belfast | :09:03. | :09:07. | |
thinks it's a good idea to reopen this case. | :09:08. | :09:10. | |
To re-open cases now, Madam Speaker, what it does, | :09:11. | :09:21. | |
it actually is revisionism, it's trying to rewrite history. | :09:22. | :09:23. | |
We're trying to look at what happened then | :09:24. | :09:25. | |
through the lens of 2017, were we have a whole | :09:26. | :09:29. | |
new emphasis on human rights and different standards. | :09:30. | :09:31. | |
I find this perverse, long and completely unacceptable. | :09:32. | :09:37. | |
I am increasingly worried because 38 years ago I gave my word the two men | :09:38. | :09:43. | |
under my command after they had been involved in a fatality shooting | :09:44. | :09:49. | |
that, if they went to court, and were charged with manslaughter | :09:50. | :09:52. | |
and they were proved not guilty, they would never | :09:53. | :09:55. | |
I gave my word and it looks like my word may not be worth | :09:56. | :10:04. | |
I'm grateful to my honourable and gallant friend. | :10:05. | :10:14. | |
I think we all, a lot of us share on this side of the House, | :10:15. | :10:18. | |
the view that fresh evidence, a transparent procedure for showing | :10:19. | :10:21. | |
that fresh evidence has emerged, should be the requirement for any | :10:22. | :10:25. | |
There cannot be a progress to the future without a complete | :10:26. | :10:30. | |
settlement of the issues of the past. | :10:31. | :10:32. | |
There has to be the closure, there has to be the investigation, | :10:33. | :10:35. | |
there has to be the disinfectant of sunlight, to quote the phrase. | :10:36. | :10:38. | |
We have to move on, sure and certain in the knowledge that we have done | :10:39. | :10:43. | |
We will never accept any kind of moral equivalence between those | :10:44. | :10:49. | |
who sought to uphold the rule of law and terrorists who | :10:50. | :10:53. | |
For us, politically motivated violence in Northern Ireland | :10:54. | :10:59. | |
Whether it was carried out by Republicans or loyalists. | :11:00. | :11:09. | |
The Northern Ireland Secretary called on all parties - | :11:10. | :11:11. | |
following next week's elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly - | :11:12. | :11:14. | |
to get behind the 2014 Stormont House Agreement | :11:15. | :11:16. | |
and the plans to set up a Historical Investigations Unit. | :11:17. | :11:20. | |
Any legislation establishing the HRU would include specific tests | :11:21. | :11:24. | |
which must be met in order that a previously completed case | :11:25. | :11:29. | |
This will mean specifically that new and credible evidence | :11:30. | :11:36. | |
that was not previously available to the authorities is needed before | :11:37. | :11:41. | |
I would hope that, on the far side of this election, | :11:42. | :11:50. | |
that there is that opportunity for the restoration of the political | :11:51. | :11:54. | |
institutions and that there's parallel negotiations to deal | :11:55. | :11:58. | |
with these issues that are outstanding, that | :11:59. | :12:03. | |
It's absolutely important that the institutions | :12:04. | :12:08. | |
which were being set up under the Stormont House Agreement, | :12:09. | :12:11. | |
which the Secretary of State referred to and which my right | :12:12. | :12:13. | |
honourable friend referred to, the Historical Investigation Unit | :12:14. | :12:15. | |
and so on, are set up so we can have a balanced, fair | :12:16. | :12:18. | |
and proportionate approach to all of this. | :12:19. | :12:21. | |
On Monday, the Prime Minister Theresa May turned up in the House | :12:22. | :12:24. | |
of Lords to watch the start of the debate on the Bill | :12:25. | :12:27. | |
authorising the Government to trigger the start of the Uk's | :12:28. | :12:32. | |
It's extremely rare for a Prime Minister to observe | :12:33. | :12:35. | |
A Labour MP, Valerie Vaz, was suspicious about | :12:36. | :12:41. | |
This is a photo opportunity for Prime Minister and Government. | :12:42. | :12:45. | |
All photos, no substance or any thought for the British people. | :12:46. | :12:49. | |
Not content with being the first to visit the United States, | :12:50. | :12:52. | |
when the Prime Minister should have been networking in Europe, | :12:53. | :12:55. | |
the Prime Minister then photobombs the House of Lords in the company | :12:56. | :12:58. | |
No wonder we can't get a date for recess. | :12:59. | :13:02. | |
Instead of photobombing, the Prime Minister needs to focus | :13:03. | :13:06. | |
on what is going on in her own Cabinet. | :13:07. | :13:08. | |
She may have come off the sofa and into the Cabinet table, | :13:09. | :13:11. | |
I was disappointed in what they said about the House of Lords. | :13:12. | :13:23. | |
I actually think it's important, it's important that ministers | :13:24. | :13:25. | |
respect the constitutional role of the House of Lords. | :13:26. | :13:27. | |
In my experience, both in Government and in Opposition, | :13:28. | :13:30. | |
members like the fact that ministers and indeed occasionally Opposition | :13:31. | :13:38. | |
spokesmen go and listen to what they have to say | :13:39. | :13:43. | |
and that is exactly what my right honourable friend the Prime Minister | :13:44. | :13:46. | |
and I were doing earlier in the week. | :13:47. | :13:55. | |
I suppose the Leader of the House can safely put away that Abolition | :13:56. | :13:58. | |
of the Lords Bill then, and all we really needed | :13:59. | :14:01. | |
was a selfie with himself and the Prime Minister | :14:02. | :14:03. | |
when he visited the Chamber last week. | :14:04. | :14:05. | |
After threatening to lead this great Brexit rebellion, | :14:06. | :14:07. | |
these brave tribunes have led the nation all the way | :14:08. | :14:09. | |
to the top of the hill and all the way back down again, | :14:10. | :14:12. | |
while obviously leaving the taxi motor running. | :14:13. | :14:14. | |
Am I the only member of the House that is slightly disturbed by these | :14:15. | :14:21. | |
allegations from the former Lord Speaker? | :14:22. | :14:24. | |
This is taxpayers' money, surely does the Leader of the House | :14:25. | :14:27. | |
not agree that this at least warrants some sort of investigation | :14:28. | :14:31. | |
about what is going on down there with their expenses? | :14:32. | :14:34. | |
He was referring to claims made in a BBC programme | :14:35. | :14:36. | |
on the House of Lords, due to be aired next Tuesday. | :14:37. | :14:40. | |
The former Leader of the Lords says some peers turn up briefly, | :14:41. | :14:43. | |
While I don't know any detail beyond the reports of this | :14:44. | :14:47. | |
television programme, it is clearly a right to that | :14:48. | :14:52. | |
evidence about specific allegations needs to be investigated | :14:53. | :14:55. | |
by the appropriate authorities in that House, just as should be | :14:56. | :14:58. | |
There also has to be due process and one has to proceed on the basis | :14:59. | :15:05. | |
You're watching Thursday in Parliament, with me, | :15:06. | :15:10. | |
New figures show net migration has fallen to its lowest | :15:11. | :15:19. | |
level for two years - but it's still above | :15:20. | :15:21. | |
It dropped to 273,000 in the year to September, down 49,000 | :15:22. | :15:28. | |
The Home Secretary said the numbers showed that "we can reduce migration | :15:29. | :15:35. | |
Just as those figures were being released, | :15:36. | :15:41. | |
the Lord's Economic Affairs Committee was holding | :15:42. | :15:45. | |
its latest hearing into Brexit and the Labour market. | :15:46. | :15:48. | |
I would suggest an objective of this kind - a level of net migration that | :15:49. | :15:51. | |
avoids undue pressure on our population, public services | :15:52. | :15:54. | |
Finally, as for an appropriate level, that of course | :15:55. | :16:06. | |
I would say that even 100,000 a year would add | :16:07. | :16:25. | |
to our population over next 25 years, so if you're | :16:26. | :16:27. | |
concern is of population, crowding and everything that follows | :16:28. | :16:29. | |
that, then you should be having in mind something of that order over | :16:30. | :16:33. | |
The net migration target is nonsense. | :16:34. | :16:38. | |
It's absurd, because there's no right level of net migration. | :16:39. | :16:46. | |
It's absurd because the Government doesn't have the means to achieve | :16:47. | :16:50. | |
any arbitrary target that it sets, both because it can scarcely control | :16:51. | :16:55. | |
immigration or EU migration, and because it only has limited | :16:56. | :17:01. | |
And last but not least, and crucially, because in | :17:02. | :17:05. | |
prioritising an absurd and arbitrary target, it takes stupid and costly | :17:06. | :17:08. | |
decisions without thinking through the consequences. | :17:09. | :17:13. | |
So it's madness at a time when every country in the world is trying | :17:14. | :17:18. | |
to increase its share of the booming global export market to be clamping | :17:19. | :17:21. | |
What you are advocating for is a complete free-for-all that | :17:22. | :17:31. | |
anyone who's got a job should be able to get a visa to come | :17:32. | :17:36. | |
here and you say, in response to the point that's been made | :17:37. | :17:40. | |
by Lord Green about the public backlash that might result, | :17:41. | :17:44. | |
is that this could be dealt with by making welfare | :17:45. | :17:47. | |
The problem we have is people can't get GP appointments, | :17:48. | :17:56. | |
the National Health Service is enormous pressure, | :17:57. | :18:01. | |
there is huge opposition to building on the green belt. | :18:02. | :18:04. | |
Isn't this an idealistic economic model which is | :18:05. | :18:06. | |
The self-selected migrants that are able to come to Britain freely | :18:07. | :18:15. | |
tend to be particularly highly educated, are more | :18:16. | :18:17. | |
likely to be employed and are particularly large net | :18:18. | :18:19. | |
In effect, they're actually subsidising the public services | :18:20. | :18:22. | |
If there were no migrants here, there'd be even less money, | :18:23. | :18:26. | |
net, for public services for British people. | :18:27. | :18:29. | |
Not to mention, doctors, far fewer doctors and nurses to care for them. | :18:30. | :18:33. | |
A Liberal Democrat asked about sectors such as agriculture, | :18:34. | :18:37. | |
that relied on large amounts of low skilled migrant workers. | :18:38. | :18:45. | |
You're saying we should aim to be ultimately | :18:46. | :18:47. | |
Well, I mean, we have 1.5 million people who are unemployed | :18:48. | :18:55. | |
and we have over 1 million part-time workers who are looking | :18:56. | :18:58. | |
for full-time work, so it's not as if the barrel is empty. | :18:59. | :19:01. | |
Robinson Crusoe scraped by on his island. | :19:02. | :19:04. | |
But the idea that it is desirable is insane. | :19:05. | :19:14. | |
Just as if we try to become self-sufficient in goods | :19:15. | :19:21. | |
and services, we would adjust, we would be poorer | :19:22. | :19:24. | |
Mechanization clearly is one thing that would happen. | :19:25. | :19:26. | |
Some things we would just do without. | :19:27. | :19:28. | |
So the Scottish strawberries that Lord Forsyth loves would go unpicked | :19:29. | :19:31. | |
and so perhaps would the English strawberries, and we would import | :19:32. | :19:33. | |
Whether British people would be better off as a result | :19:34. | :19:37. | |
With some 100,000 people facing starvation, and a million more | :19:38. | :19:55. | |
on the brink of famine in South Sudan, an independent peer, | :19:56. | :19:59. | |
Lord Alton, secured an urgent question in the House of Lords. | :20:00. | :20:01. | |
He wanted to know what was being done to tackle the causes | :20:02. | :20:04. | |
Does the noble lord agree that the three-year civil war | :20:05. | :20:14. | |
in South Sudan and the continuing conflict just north in the Republic | :20:15. | :20:17. | |
of Sudan have generated vast numbers of refugees and a consequential | :20:18. | :20:23. | |
inability to grow and harvest crops, and that should remain our priority | :20:24. | :20:25. | |
Can the noble lord tell us what progress is being made | :20:26. | :20:35. | |
in achieving this, in obtaining access to closed areas in the unity | :20:36. | :20:38. | |
state and then galvanizing international effort | :20:39. | :20:39. | |
to save the lives of millions now at risk of starvation, | :20:40. | :20:42. | |
He's right in highlighting that many crises | :20:43. | :20:49. | |
that we face are not man-made, but this one is most | :20:50. | :20:52. | |
I have just left a emergency planning meeting on the situation in | :20:53. | :21:06. | |
Somalia. That is where some 6 million people | :21:07. | :21:13. | |
are at risk because of famine and there we are doing | :21:14. | :21:16. | |
the best we actually can. Here, the frustrating thing is, | :21:17. | :21:18. | |
although we donate ?100 million, although the UN mission | :21:19. | :21:21. | |
to South Sudan is in place on the ground and many humanitarian | :21:22. | :21:23. | |
workers are risking their lives to deliver aid, unless there | :21:24. | :21:26. | |
is that peace agreement, the implementation of the existing | :21:27. | :21:28. | |
peace agreement, then the futures of people in South Sudan, | :21:29. | :21:31. | |
particularly women and children, What are we doing in terms | :21:32. | :21:33. | |
of building sustainable peace It comes back to our point before, | :21:34. | :21:36. | |
development is not just about humanitarian aid, | :21:37. | :21:40. | |
it is about building peace and sustainability, | :21:41. | :21:41. | |
particularly in Africa. The Lord is absolutely right | :21:42. | :21:47. | |
and I appreciate his remarks. On the specifics that he mentions, | :21:48. | :21:49. | |
we have been supporting and coaching and encouraging the work | :21:50. | :21:55. | |
of the intergovernmental African development body, | :21:56. | :22:00. | |
who have been reading a lot of this work and also through the UN | :22:01. | :22:03. | |
Security Council on that. We've been working with | :22:04. | :22:06. | |
international partners, we're part of an agreement | :22:07. | :22:09. | |
with Norway and the United States A huge amount had been done, | :22:10. | :22:12. | |
he said, but the UK Now, what will airports be | :22:13. | :22:20. | |
like in the post-Brexit world - when the UK takes | :22:21. | :22:24. | |
control of its borders? Will there be long queues of people | :22:25. | :22:28. | |
from EU countries waiting to get Perhaps there'll be | :22:29. | :22:32. | |
a new dedicated fast lane Does taking back control | :22:33. | :22:34. | |
of our borders mean the 23 million inbound passengers from the EU | :22:35. | :22:40. | |
who pass through our airports each year will be subject | :22:41. | :22:43. | |
to full border checks? Is he aware of research | :22:44. | :22:45. | |
by the tourism industry Council which shows it would require UK | :22:46. | :22:47. | |
border resources to be Can he assure us that those costs | :22:48. | :22:50. | |
will be met from the 350 million Well, Mr Speaker, it is already | :22:51. | :22:57. | |
the case that when an EU citizen arrives in this country, | :22:58. | :23:02. | |
they have to show their passport and I don't envisage | :23:03. | :23:04. | |
that changing in future. Passengers arriving at UK airports | :23:05. | :23:09. | |
would expect the queue for no longer than 25 minutes coming | :23:10. | :23:12. | |
from the European Economic Area, 45 minutes coming from outside that | :23:13. | :23:14. | |
area due to service-level agreements Does the Secretary of State believe | :23:15. | :23:16. | |
these service-level agreements Mr Speaker, as the Prime | :23:17. | :23:20. | |
Minister said recently, and I would reiterate, | :23:21. | :23:26. | |
our desire post Brexit is not to have long queues on our borders, | :23:27. | :23:31. | |
it's actually to have sensible arrangements to allow people | :23:32. | :23:34. | |
to travel to do business but also to enable us to have the controls | :23:35. | :23:36. | |
on migration to the United Kingdom that I think people | :23:37. | :23:40. | |
voted for last year. Does my right honourable | :23:41. | :23:42. | |
friend agree that, once the UK leaves the EU, | :23:43. | :23:47. | |
we will be free to open dedicated entry lanes to our airports for use | :23:48. | :23:50. | |
only by UK citizens and those of our overseas territories, | :23:51. | :23:53. | |
thereby speeding up entry to the UK? Well, of course, Mr Speaker, | :23:54. | :23:56. | |
as my honourable friend knows, post Brexit, it will be a matter | :23:57. | :23:59. | |
for this House and this Government to decide how best | :24:00. | :24:02. | |
to manage our borders, but I'm sure my honourable friend | :24:03. | :24:04. | |
would wish to ensure that, where appropriate, | :24:05. | :24:06. | |
we have the smoothest possible passes through our border for people | :24:07. | :24:08. | |
who we would wish to welcome At the Culture, Media | :24:09. | :24:12. | |
and Sport Select Committee this week, several witnesses expressed | :24:13. | :24:22. | |
concern about the timeliness that would be required for physical | :24:23. | :24:30. | |
reconfiguration of airports. Is the Secretary of State having | :24:31. | :24:31. | |
conversations with the airport Well, I had a meeting in fact | :24:32. | :24:34. | |
with airlines and airports earlier this week and will continue | :24:35. | :24:37. | |
to do so. We will continue to consult | :24:38. | :24:40. | |
carefully with the industry. But as I say, of course, | :24:41. | :24:42. | |
people arriving from all around the world today have | :24:43. | :24:44. | |
to show their passports already when they arrive | :24:45. | :24:46. | |
in the United Kingdom, so I don't envisage the kind | :24:47. | :24:48. | |
of dramatic change that perhaps What insurances and evidence can | :24:49. | :24:51. | |
he provide as inter-departmental work ongoing to ensure | :24:52. | :25:00. | |
that there will be as little disruption as possible | :25:01. | :25:02. | |
and ensure our tourism market, which is vital for jobs | :25:03. | :25:04. | |
and the economy, will not I'm going to simply say | :25:05. | :25:06. | |
to the honourable Lady, she is making an assumption | :25:07. | :25:09. | |
I simply don't accept. It is the case already, | :25:10. | :25:12. | |
Mr Speaker that people are arriving into our borders have | :25:13. | :25:15. | |
to show their passports before We certainly don't envisage | :25:16. | :25:18. | |
a situation where we said we create vast additional queues | :25:19. | :25:26. | |
on our border. We want a smooth, streamlined | :25:27. | :25:28. | |
process for people who have the right to come here to do | :25:29. | :25:30. | |
so and to be welcome here. Chris Grayling, reassuring | :25:31. | :25:33. | |
everyone that there'll be no Well, time for me to fly but do | :25:34. | :25:35. | |
join me on Friday night at 11 for a roundup of a week | :25:36. | :25:40. | |
in which the House of Lords Until then from me, | :25:41. | :25:45. | |
Kristiina Cooper, goodbye. | :25:46. | :25:47. |